Meath Continues To Have Lowest Number of Gardaí per Capita In The Country
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Please see figures attached
Following a PQ Response from the Minister for Justice, Aontú Leader & Meath West TD Peadar Tóibín has raised once again the fact that Meath continues to have the lowest number of Garda per capita in the country.
An Teachta Tóibín:
“Despite the number of government TDs, Senators and Ministers from Meath, our county continues to lose out in terms of allocation of resources. Figures released to me in a Parliamentary Question response, show that for every 1 Garda in Meath, there are 582 citizens. That is the worst ratio in the country. Counties with smaller populations than Meath have higher numbers of Gardaí in their county. Meath has only 333 Gardaí allocated to the county. How is this acceptable? In fact, this ratio has worsened in recent times”.
Previously the ratio of Garda to citizen was 1 Garda to every 564 citizens. Now it stands at 1 Garda to 585 citizens. The situation is worsening not improving. In fact, we’ve lost two Gardaí since December. As if to compound the issue, Meath also stands to lose the Garda Divisional Headquarters which is likely to reduce Garda numbers even further.”
“Major populations hubs in Meath like Ratoath are without a Garda station. Aontú rep Josephine Bradley has formed a campaign and a petition to put for a Garda station in Ratoath”.
“Before the onset of Lockdown we had seen worrying spikes in crime and anti-social behaviour. Many town centres are plagued with drug dealing. Sexual assault was on the rise. Restaurants and shops were closing early due to anti-social behaviour. People walking home at night were being attacked and are ending up in intensive care. Petrol bombs have been thrown at the Courts. Hatchet attacks have happened in the middle of the day. Sexual assault has seen a massive rise.”
“Meath continues to lose out in the allocation of resources across the board, from transport to Gardaí. It is simply unacceptable and particularly galling given the number of government TDs from the county. As we open up over the next few months we need to ensure that Meath has its fair share of Gardaí”
Garda Ratio December 2020